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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29572029">Sometimes Things Drop into Your Lap from Above, and That's Okay</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/loopd/pseuds/oldsmobile-hotdogs'>oldsmobile-hotdogs (loopd)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bobby is Not Trevor Wilson, Carrie Flynn and Julie are childhood friends, Childhood Friends, Ergo Bobby is part of The Pack TM, Grief/Mourning, Multi, Ray Molina is a Great Father, Reggie Peters Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), bobby is carrie's brother, except for Rose lmao, tags updated as we go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:55:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,268</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29572029</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/loopd/pseuds/oldsmobile-hotdogs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During her time at grief counselling, Dr Turner had tried to prepare Julie Molina for how to deal with various real-world situations now that her mother had passed. What he didn't prepare her for was how to react when you catch an old friend and three strangers attempting a B&amp;E into your mother's studio, and certainly not what to do when they then ask you to join their pop punk band.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bobby | Trevor Wilson &amp; Alex Mercer &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie Peters, Flynn &amp; Julie Molina, Flynn &amp; Julie Molina &amp; Carrie Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Inn has Room for All Sorts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Rated T in general for swearing and heavier concepts !</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soft moonlight cascaded through the windows behind her and the light thrumming of rain could be heard as Julie sat in near total darkness behind one of the several keyboards in her mother's old studio, fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater and wringing her thumbs. This was the third night in a row Julie had tried and failed to organise the studio as per her father's request, and the mountain of clutter was just as insurmountable as ever. To her credit, Julie had been able to look at and almost shelve two CDs that night before the familiar boulder of grief took up lodging in the pit of her stomach and she had had to sit down somewhere before the waterworks started. The skin around her eyes was now slightly reddened and puffy, and the CDs were now rested on the keyboard in front of her, balancing on the rubber buttons, seemingly mocking her for her inability to process anything about her mother's life or death without it feeling like the end of the world from their slightly elevated position.</p><p>Julie stood up quickly, consciously attempting to make herself busy out of spite for the CDs. Stepping onto the polished platforms, she began her ascent up the wooden stairs to the small loft set atop the area where she had just been, hopeful to find some bits of clutter that didn't make her so emotional: maybe a Rubik's cube or a fake cactus that she could just bring down, set on the coffee table and feel accomplished about moving. Once she finished her ascent, she glanced around for anything easy to organise. However, just as her eyes had landed on a collection of Discworld books that would absolutely not be easy to organise and felt the dreaded tears spring to her eyes again, she heard voices making their way down the path towards the garage-turned-studio that led to the main road.</p><p>'C'mon Reg, we're almost there now, okay? You're gonna be okay. We'll figure this out, I promise.'</p><p>'Alex, can you run ahead and check if the door's locked? I don't want any unpleasant surprises in the form of having to break into the Molinas' private property.'</p><p>Julie felt her heartbeat quicken in alarm. What was happening? What were these people planning on doing? And how did they know her family? She watched, near paralysed as someone tried the door handle and pushed the door open a few inches before shutting it again.</p><p>'Yeah, it's unlocked,' a voice, presumably Alex, called out.</p><p>'Right, then could you hold it open?' another voice asked, sounding exasperated.</p><p>'Oh, shit, yeah,' Alex responded, pushing the door open fully this time, allowing more moonlight to wash into the room, its cool white light bathing the studio in an ethereal, almost eerie way, the rays landing on the floor absorbed by the dull concrete.</p><p>Caught between making herself as scarce as possible and confronting the intruders head-on, Julie settled for crouching behind an old trunk in the loft and peering over it at the scene that began to unfold before her.</p><p>She watched as three boys, seemingly her age, bounded into the room, their eyes looking around wildly before scrambling over to a couch which sat facing the side of the room with the loft and which Julie was almost certain had been there before her family had moved in and would be there after the apocalypse. As they were settling down onto it, her attention turned to the other boy, Alex, who had been holding open the door and was now following the first three in, making sure to gently close the door behind him. Her interest was piqued as he rooted around in what looked like a large, black fanny pack, and began pulling out all sorts of things, namely a metal water bottle and an inhaler, and setting them down on the coffee table in front of the couch where the other boys sat, practically piled on top of each other. She watched as Alex took a seat on the coffee table, leaning forward to the other three and all of them beginning to speak in hushed tones.</p><p>Julie was becoming increasingly unsure of when, or even whether, she should make her presence known. They didn't seem dangerous, but they were also technically in her house when they definitely shouldn't be, but they also seemed like they were in the middle of a crisis and she didn't want to be cruel. But they were trespassing. Desperate for a solution, Julie's eyes darted around the loft for something, anything, that could be of assistance. She felt an even more nervous, anticipatory energy wash over her when her eyes landed on something that just might work. Standing up slowly, Julie quietly toed her way over to the wall of the loft nearest the door, and flipped the light switch.</p><p>She blinked for a second as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change, but quickly looked over to see the boys all frozen in place, but pointedly not looking at her. Julie was surprised with herself when she found herself speaking.</p><p>'Sorry,' she began, walking over to the stairs and starting to climb down. 'I just wasn't sure how to let you know that someone was in here without it being all weird, but I guess I did that anyway.' Julie let out a small, dry laugh as she straightened up after having completed her descent. Turning around as she began again, she faced the boys, who were now looking at her.</p><p>'So, uh, why did you find it appropriate to break into my- oh my god it's you.' Julie felt her eyes widen as she took in the sight of a very old friend sitting in front of her.</p><p>'Shit,' she heard him mutter under his breath. He shifted uneasily. 'Yeah, it's me,' he responded, his hands rushing to fiddle with his suspenders. 'Look, don't freak out, okay?' he began, searching Julie's face for animosity. 'Your house is the closest to Reggie's.' He paused to point to the boy next to him, whose hands were now being held protectively by the other two boys. 'And even then it was far, and he's had a really rough night and then the rain started up and we just needed to get inside ASAP, and I thought that even if we got caught Ray wouldn't be too mad with us so I just took a chance.' He looked up at her with large, pleading, endlessly familiar, deep brown eyes.</p><p>He was right, of course. Julie's father would never even dream of being angry, and definitely not of staying angry, at Bobby Wilson for deciding to crash in the studio, especially if he was helping his friends, even though these friends were total strangers, and even though years had passed since they had last properly spoken.</p><p>'And I remembered that this place had that little bathroom and a loft with a mattress and that the couch turned into a bed and I thought that that could work if we needed it,' he continued, pointing around the room with one hand while the other reached to softly hold Reggie's knee as it now bounced.</p><p>Julie felt the familiar boulder of grief begin its tumble down into the base of her abdomen with thoughts of summers past, but wasn't given the opportunity to wallow.</p><p>'I didn't- we didn't want to invade your privacy. We're just desperate.' Bobby's face had returned to searching hers.</p><p>'No, that's- that's okay. Obviously you can stay,' Julie replied quickly, her voice quieter than it previously had been. Suddenly, the full reality of the situation caught up with her. 'Shit, are you guys okay?' she asked, voice still low.</p><p>'I think we will be,' Alex replied, now standing, having moved to stroke Reggie's hair from behind the couch. 'But Reggie's shaken up, and we're all pretty exhausted.'</p><p>Julie nodded and, after a short pause, gestured to Alex's water bottle. 'If you want I can fill that up for you.' He nodded, a grateful smile decorating his face, and she quickly made her way over to the small bathroom in the corner of the studio, hearing the hushed speaking resume atop the twangs of water hitting the inside of the bottle. Now holding a full bottle and about to turn back, Julie paused when she heard the speaking become louder and more tense.</p><p>'You're absolutely not going back there tonight, if ever,' a voice said, not Bobby's or Alex's, taught and tinged with incredulity. 'Us three can go back tomorrow and get clothes for a few days so you can stay somewhere else for the time being.'</p><p>A deep sigh followed. 'Luke, it's not up to you to make that decision for him, as much as I agree,' Alex argued. 'Plus, if two out of three of the people getting Reggie's clothes secretly want to start an altercation with his parents, I don't want to be the one person there who doesn't.'</p><p>'We wouldn't- jeez, Alex, do you reckon we're that immature?' the first voice, presumably Luke, retorted, his tone heated. 'I'm just trying to make sure Reggie is safe and you reckon I'll cash in on some blood debts while I'm at it, hm?'</p><p>'You know that's not what I meant.'</p><p>'Well then, what did you mean?'</p><p>'All I meant was that-'</p><p>'Guys.' A quieter, shakier voice, unfamiliar to Julie, cut through the argument. A pregnant silence followed.</p><p>'God, Reg, I'm sorry,' Luke eventually sighed. 'It's one hundred percent your call, whatever you wanna do, we'll back you up. But this is-' A pause. His voice shaking slightly, he continued, 'Really scary, dude.'</p><p>She heard a rustling of fabric and decided now was as good a time as ever to come back in. As she re-entered the main room she found Reggie and the still unfamiliar boy, who must have been Luke, tightly embracing, one of Luke's hands tangled in Reggie's hair. Julie felt a kernel of concern nestle into the muscles at the base of the front of her neck with the thoughts of what could have possibly happened.</p><p>She cleared her throat gently. All four boys looked over to her. 'I, uh, I have your water bottle,' she said, waving it lightly in the air for effect, unsure of how not to feel useless in this moment. Alex immediately sprang into action and relieved her of it, striding back over to the coffee table before sitting directly in front of Reggie and gently prying Luke off of him. As Alex began coaxing Reggie into drinking sips of it, Julie found herself zoning out, trying to process all of the information she had just learned. She snapped back into focus when she noticed Bobby approaching.</p><p>'I just wanted to thank you for letting us crash here,' he began, leaning down slightly so that they could speak discretely.</p><p>'It's no problem,' Julie responded, staring ahead at the couch, where Alex and Luke were now both encouraging Reggie to take sips of the water, Luke playing with Reggie's fingers and Alex tapping out a quiet rhythm on the coffee table. 'Sorry if this is inappropriate, but what happened with-'</p><p>'We were meant to all go down to the pier together for the night,' Bobby interrupted, his gaze now focused on Reggie. 'And Reggie lives closest to it, but even by the time we met up we could see something was seriously up with him.' He let out a sigh. Julie noticed how it wavered.</p><p>A pause. 'You don't have to-'</p><p>'No, it's okay,' Bobby assured, though the fatigue in his tone seemed to disagree. He quickly looked back to Julie before his gaze returned to the couch. 'He was clutching to himself. Like, every part of himself. Like he'd started falling apart or something, and was trying to keep the pieces held together. And he looked- just- so, horribly sad. And then the rain started up. Look, I don't think it's my place to tell you why, but we knew we had to get him somewhere quiet and warm quickly.'</p><p>Before she could even register that she'd made the move to do it, Julie found herself rubbing Bobby's upper arm in a soothing manor. This too was endlessly familiar. After a moment like this, Julie broke the silence. 'It's crazy that you're back here,' she whispered to no one in particular.</p><p>'It's crazy to be back here,' Bobby replied, a small laugh leaking out despite the situation.</p><p>And it was. Julie had no explanation for why tonight of all nights, in the midst of her trying to move on from her mother's passing, the universe had decided to dredge up a whole host of old memories and dump on her a whole set of new ones. She knew Flynn would argue, later, that it was all one big sign from her mother, but she wasn't sure how much she believed that.</p><p>'I wish it could have been under better circumstances,' Julie offered, grimacing as the words came out. They felt dumb and obvious and not at all like what was needed, like for once she was on the giving end of the condolences and the thoughts and prayers, and found herself floundering.</p><p>'Yeah, me too,' Bobby responded anyway, probably happy for the noise.</p><p>Their conversation was halted when Luke called out, 'Uh, Bobby?' He turned around to face the both of them. 'Or- sorry, I guess I should also ask you because you live here, uh...'</p><p>'Julie,' she supplied, realising then that these boys, bar Bobby, knew as little about her as she did about them, and that she had allowed them to stay in her home purely on Bobby's persuasion skills alone.</p><p>'Julie, yeah,' Luke responded. There was a small pause before he continued, 'Uh, Reggie says he's starting to feel really tired, and I know it's not super late, but I was thinking it might be time to go to sleep anyway?' He phrased it more like a question, looking at Julie to seemingly ask for permission.</p><p>'Yeah, of course,' Julie answered, nodding. 'I just have to figure out what to tell Dad in the morning,' she gave a small laugh, intending to lighten the mood with her comment. It didn't land.</p><p>Alex looked over, his face a mixture of apprehension, nerves and something else Julie couldn't quite place. 'We can be gone by the morning, if that's what you need.'</p><p>Julie was taken aback by the suggestion. 'No, don't. You're- fuck, I'm sorry it felt like I meant <em>that</em>. Of course you can stay. The whole night. And for breakfast.' She saw Alex's expression change drastically, but before she could figure out exactly what to, Julie felt strong arms squeezing her impossibly tightly from her side. </p><p>'God, Molina, were you always the best?' Bobby asked jokingly, and suddenly she was being picked up and twirled around, just like they all used to do to each other as kids, though back then most attempts ended in piles of limbs on the floor and loud laughter.</p><p>Once back on the ground, Julie sputtered for a moment, struggling with taking the compliment. Eventually she settled on somewhat moving past it.</p><p>'I mean, you guys are still gonna have to help me get everything set up, and there's a lot to do if we're gonna fit...' She trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. For some unknown reason, she felt the need to be included in this impromptu- sleepover? Could it even be called that?</p><p>Julie found it strange: her unknown reason certainly wasn't logistical or due to suspicion. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Bobby, or even the others, to behave in the garage by themselves, and trying to fit an extra person in it wouldn't make anything easier, but Julie felt almost drawn to also stay in the studio that night, as if there were something she had to witness, or was afraid to miss. Again, she was certain Flynn would swear up and down that this was a flashing, blaring, arrow-shaped roadworks sign pointing directly to the apex of the garage from above, fashioned by her mother- that this was fated, that if she'd gotten her cards read prior they would have spoken of this moment in vague notions: something akin to "meeting", followed by "community", followed by "a male presence", followed by "youth". And increasingly Julie was starting to give credence to this hypothetical Flynn's arguments.</p><p>Luckily, Bobby beat her to trying to explain. "Boys," he began, gaining the other three's attention. 'We're alright if Julie's here too, right? I'm sure she just wants to keep an eye; make sure we're safe.' He looked over at her encouragingly.</p><p>'Yeah,' she responded, voice suddenly softer with the shock of having been accurately perceived. 'Yeah, I just wanna be here in case you guys need anything.' And that was partly it, but also partly definitely not it.</p><p>The other three boys nodded in agreement, expressions curious and blank, like young animals seeing a new weather phenomenon for the first time. Julie reckoned she'd look just as confused if the roles were reversed.</p><p>As if telepathically connected, all five of them began making themselves busy with setting up the studio at once, fanning out nearly perfectly. Bobby and Luke took to pulling the old brown leather couch out into a bed, Bobby knowing how to feel around for the lever underneath to spring it open. Alex and Julie, though being practically strangers, were able to fall into a rhythm while transporting the mattress from its place tucked into a corner in the loft to settled on the floor of the studio, dust kicking up a few inches when they finally put it down. Reggie took on the less arduous tasks, finding the blankets and pillows stuffed haphazardly into the small bathroom's even smaller closet and doling them out to the two bed-like surfaces now set up in the garage. In all honesty, Julie hadn't expected him to do anything. The poor boy looked rattled, like he'd seen a ghost, and Julie wouldn't have blamed him if he wanted to just sit on one of the chairs dotted around the place and wait for this part to be over. She made sure to send him a warm smile when their eyes met while working, trying to communicate gratitude, and hopefully some safety. He smiled back, and it seemed genuine, but she was unsure if he'd received the whole message.</p><p>Eventually they had everything where they would functionally need it, which was good enough for now, and Julie announced that she was going to grab her sleeping bag from her room, knowing that she both would not be able to fit on the couch or mattress if two people were taking each, and that the boys would want some semblance of privacy, regardless of how many embarrassing situations Julie and Bobby had caught each other in over the years. Just as she was about to leave, an idea struck her.</p><p>'Do you...' she began, turning again to them. Their faces were expectant. 'Do you want some of my Dad's old clothes to sleep in tonight? Just so you don't feel as gross wearing the same clothes tomorrow.'</p><p>Julie sensed they were apprehensive of accepting any further shows of hospitality from her, but eventually a couple of them softly nodded, Luke mumbling out, 'Thanks.'</p><p>Nodding herself, turning around again and leaving the garage, the rain having now stopped, Julie traipsed her way up the stairs to the back door and walked through the threshold into the kitchen, calling out to her father, her tone relaxed, 'I'll be in the studio tonight! Just getting my sleeping bag!'</p><p>She heard the voice of her father, seemingly surprised, respond from an unspecific location upstairs. 'O-okay, Mija! Keep your phone on you and call me if you need anything.'</p><p>She knew what that meant. Call him if it gets bad. Call him if the grief became suffocating like it had been this whole year. Call him if this new excitement didn't last and the studio once again became the boulder to her Sisyphus, the Buddha's hand to her Monkey King: inescapable, all-encompassing and perpetually returning to just as it was at the beginning. Julie felt her breath hitch for a moment and her heartbeat quicken, but forced herself to focus instead on getting what she needed and getting back to the boys.</p><p>Hurrying up to her room and snatching the pouch her sleeping bag was stuffed into tightly from next to her chest of drawers, she then quickly threw on a mismatched set of pajamas, the trousers a bright red, loose and decorated in a paisley pattern, and the t-shirt an off-white colour dotted with forest green T-Rexes. Stealthily, now, she creeped to her father's bedroom door and listened through it intently. Beginning to hear the faint rumbling of water running, Julie was assured that he was in the bedroom's ensuite, meaning that now was the time to strike. Slipping into the room, careful to remain silent opening the door, she stalked over to her father's own chest of drawers. Gingerly, Julie inspected the drawers one at a time, being sure to lift each by both handles before pulling to avoid any scraping or creaking noises. Rummaging around, but making sure to return everything to its place and folded, Julie eventually procured four pairs of striped and tartan pajama trousers, and four older t-shirts: one for a post-punk band that had definitely disbanded a decade ago; another for a beer brand that Julie had last seen being given a documentary on the History channel; a third for a landscaping service her father had obviously never worked for, his lifelong occupation having been as a photographer, and a final for an anti-drug campaign with an overly friendly looking bird of prey on the front, his arms crossed. Squirreling them under an arm, Julie managed to slip back out of the room and silently close the door behind her just as she heard the water shut off. Allowing a moment to bask in her mini-victory and breathe a sigh of relief, Julie then bounded down the stairs, taking them two at a time, and raced back out of the house and down the patio steps.</p><p>Approaching the garage, however, Julie once again heard the hushed voices. She decided to hold off on bursting in, not wanting to interrupt an important conversation, but also, less altruistically, highly curious as to what was being said.</p><p>'Hey, are you doing okay?' Julie recognised that as Bobby.</p><p>'Yeah, a little better. Still kind of... shocked.' His voice was firmer than the last time she'd heard it, so it took a moment for Julie to realise that it was Reggie she was now hearing.</p><p>A pause.</p><p>'Reg, I'm sorry for not... being over by you earlier. With Luke and Alex.'</p><p>'What... What do you mean? What are you apologising for?'</p><p>Someone let out a sigh, presumably Bobby.</p><p>'I just- It probably felt like I didn't care, or I was too wrapped up in catching up with an old friend or something.'</p><p>Another pause. This one was longer.</p><p>'Look, let's just drop-'</p><p>'I know you care, Bobby,' Reggie interrupted, voice softer. 'You brought us here. I mean, heck, you practically carried me the whole way.'</p><p>A third pause.</p><p>'You know we all love you, right? You're our family.' Bobby's voice changed to match Reggie's.</p><p>A fourth pause. Julie thought she heard a sniff.</p><p>'Can I give you a hug?'</p><p>'...Yeah, 'course,' came a reply from Reggie, wet with sadness.</p><p>Julie decided to wait a couple more minutes before re-entering the studio and gently placing the pajamas on the coffee table, which had now been moved to an odd corner of the room so as to make space for the pullout bed.</p><p>'There's four sets. I guess just fight over what you want?' she explained, turning around to face all four boys, who were spread out between the bed and the mattress. 'I'll get set up in the loft.'</p><p>'You sure you're alright up there?' Bobby asked unexpectedly.</p><p>'Yeah, I'll be fine,' Julie replied, giving a small smile.</p><p>As she ascended the stairs once more and spread out the sleeping bag, the boys took turns darting into the bathroom to change into the pajamas, leaving their clothes from the day in small piles next to the mattress once done. As they finally all began to bed down, the boys tucking pillows under their heads and trying to straighten out the blankets while lying down, Julie once again walked over to the light, but hesitated before she could nonchalantly flip it back off.</p><p>'Good night,' she found herself saying, although she felt stupid the moment she'd said it, her ears warming up with embarrassment.</p><p>To her surprise, however, they all responded.</p><p>A genuine grin on her face, Julie flipped the light off, walked back over to her sleeping bag, snuggled herself between the two shifting, scratchy layers of polyester, and found herself drifting off almost immediately.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Take my Lungs, Take them and Run</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>can you tell i'm already running out of chapter title ideas? lmao</p>
<p>i hope you enjoy this update! apologies for the inhumane wait time, march decided to really be that bitch lol. this chapter's a little heavier than i originally intended, so warnings up ahead re: that:</p>
<p>cw: panic attack: mention, build-up, negative self-talk, derealisation; discussion of death</p>
<p>rated t for swearing again !</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The caw of a particularly angry crow broke Julie from her slumber and she felt her eyes shoot open. The first sensation that hit her was a pain in her lower back. Seemingly no matter how serendipitous a night was, a sleeping bag was never going to make allowances and let you rest easy.</p>
<p>Then the realisation of how particular last night truly was caught up with her, and she sharply rolled onto her side to peek through the bannisters at the scene below. Scanning the room, she noted Luke's and Reggie's heads poking out just slightly from under the blanket they shared on the pullout bead, their hair laying in all sorts of directions as they slept facing each other, and Bobby, having abandoned the blanket he and Alex were sharing and curled in a foetal position, uncovered, also still asleep. But her counting stopped at three. Her blood ran cold. Her mind raced, thinking of how Alex was so sure she wouldn't want them staying, where he could have gotten to all by himself in the middle of the night, whether he-</p>
<p>She heard the toilet flush and the water from the sink turn on and her heartbeat settled. Breathing a sigh of relief, Julie found she was glad the boys, or at least Alex, felt comfortable enough in the Molina home to use the bathroom, however she also thought that was an odd thought to specifically have about a group of people, the majority of whom she'd just met. She watched as the door to the bathroom inched open and Alex slipped through the small gap he'd made himself, closing the door incredibly softly behind him. Turning back out to look at the whole room, their gazes suddenly met. Alex immediately averted his, favouring instead the hem of her father's old t-shirt, his own bedhead flopping over his face so as to obscure it from view.</p>
<p>'Sorry,' she barely heard him make out, voice muted by both a want not to disturb the others, and also by it being the morning.</p>
<p>'No, you're okay, no worries,' Julie found herself responding, her own voice equally as groggy. The drama of last night had clearly done a small but noticeable number on all of them physically. 'Did you sleep okay?' she asked, increasingly surprised by her apparent ability to just open her mouth and talk to these strangers.</p>
<p>Alex gave a short, soft nod. The room was once again left to the light, twinkling silence that was only possible to hear in the somewhat early morning. 'Should I wake them up?' he eventually asked, gesturing to the other three.</p>
<p>Julie rolled back over to grab her phone from the other side of the sleeping bag before making the daring move to finally scooch herself out of the sleeping bag for good and sit cross-legged on the loft floor, slightly colder as she once again peered through the bannisters. Turning on her phone, she noted the time was just after ten-past-eight. She gave a shrug.</p>
<p>'I mean, you can,' she eventually replied. It wouldn't be a crime if they slept a little longer, but waking them up now didn't seem too inhumane.</p>
<p>Taking that as an affirmative, Alex began lightly jostling the other three awake. In the meantime, Julie found herself fiddling with the pendant on one of her necklaces, this particular one depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe and quietly thanking- she wasn't sure who: maybe the Virgin Mary, as depicted; maybe her mother, or maybe just the cosmic coincidences of the universe- that the weirdest night of her life occurred on a Friday, and that they could at least take today a little slowly.</p>
<p>The other boys grunted and groaned and occasionally whined, like old locomotives being put into action after a long hiatus, as they slowly greeted the morning. Luke threw his arm over his face to shield his eyes in frustration, drawing out an "ow" when he made harder impact than he had expected. Eventually, and begrudgingly, the other three were up, sitting up on the makeshift beds, all of their hair still failing their orienteering tests. She noticed Reggie attempting to smooth his own down, the thick black locks choosing instead to spring back up to where they had been previously the moment Reggie stopped touching them.</p>
<p>Julie stretched lightly as she now stood, a small yawn escaping her, and descended the stairs from the loft. Once on solid ground, she turned to the four of them.</p>
<p>'Get dressed first? Or breakfast first?' she asked plainly, holding out her hands as though they were a weighing scale in front of her, gently shifting a mimed weight from one hand to the other.</p>
<p>'Will- will your Dad mind?' Alex asked from where he now sat on the mattress next to Bobby.</p>
<p>'Nah, of course not. He's a big fan of pajama breakfasts. Plus, it's Saturday.' Joking, Julie continued, 'You might have to explain the clothes, though.' Bobby let out a single, short, sharp laugh, a trait he'd retained from years before. The reaction seemed to ease some of the tension the other three had, though their general apprehension was still evident on their faces.</p>
<p>After getting up from their spots, the four of them followed Julie out into a suprisingly cold- though maybe not as surprising, given how heavily it had rained the night before- California morning, all five of them finding themselves occasionally rubbing their arms for warmth as they stepped up the path to the back door, falling into a single file by chance.</p>
<p>Julie's crossing over the threshold into the kitchen was accompanied by a quick shout, 'Dad! We've got company! Hope that's alright!' She was almost certain it would be. Julie couldn't begin to count the amount of times Flynn had arrived at her house at hours considered unsociable by everyone else. Sure, this particular situation involved more people than was typical, but her father was an agreeable man. Right?</p>
<p>A reply came as Julie saw her father round the corner from the sitting area into the kitchen. 'Of course, mija, but who is it?'</p>
<p>Julie never liked those memory games that built up from nothing. Anything that wanted her to memorise an increasing number of buttons, or colours, or things you were going to buy at the grocery store but alphabetically, was decidedly not worth her time. But here she was, doing exactly that.</p>
<p>'Bobby's here, Dad. You remember Bobby?' It was more a plea than a question.</p>
<p>Ray looked up from the mail he'd been sorting through, eyes wide. 'Of course I remember Bobby. My goodness, it's been so long.' He started towards the threshold, a welcoming smile on his face. Julie had to think fast.</p>
<p>'Well, he brought over some friends last night to... help me clean up the studio! Yeah, they were a really big help.' Julie smiled widely, really trying to sell her cover-up.</p>
<p>Ray blanched and stopped in his tracks. He slowly chose his next words, as if his mind was whirring back to life, as if instead of saying what he wanted to say, he had decided to say something else. 'Well I hope you guys didn't stay up too late doing that instead of sleeping.'</p>
<p>This response Julie could pretend was normal. Rolling her eyes in jest, she replied, 'No, of course not, Dad.' As he finally reached the threshold, Julie stood to the side to point at everyone and introduce them.</p>
<p>'You remember Bobby-'</p>
<p>'Hi, Mr Molina.' Bobby gave a short wave.</p>
<p>'Hey, Bobby. You know you can just call me Ray, right?' Bobby gave a light nod. 'How's your Dad, by the way? I feel like I haven't spoken to him in ages.'</p>
<p>'Dad's doing good. He says we should all meet up for a barbecue at some point, like old times.'</p>
<p>'I'd like that.'</p>
<p>'-and this is Luke,-'</p>
<p>'Hi, Mr Molina.' Julie noticed Luke bounce a couple times on his heels as he introduced himself.</p>
<p>'-Reggie,-'</p>
<p>'Hi, Sir.' This greeting made Ray raise his eyebrows, but he held his tongue.</p>
<p>'-and Alex.'</p>
<p>'Hi.' Alex's voice was softer than Julie'd ever heard it, though her frame of reference was admittedly very small.</p>
<p>There was a small stretch of silence as Ray whispered the names back to himself a few times.</p>
<p>'Well, good morning to you four. No need for the formalities; you can call me Ray,' he eventually responded. 'I assume the tidying took longer than expected.' He gestured to the four sets of his pajamas currently on the boys' bodies.</p>
<p>'Yeah, there was loads of old stuff,' Julie butted in quickly, hoping to stop this thread of conversation before the lie untangled itself.</p>
<p>'I can imagine,' Ray replied simply, smiling lightly, another beat of silence passing over them before he spoke again. 'Well, come in, come in. I'm going to get breakfast going, and I know my pajamas aren't that warm,' he joked, corralling them into the kitchen with a wave.</p>
<p>'Oh. I'm, uh, vegetarian now, Mr Mo- Ray, by the way. Just cuz you're making breakfast, which thank you, by the way, for that, I thought it might...' The rest of what Bobby had to say died out as they all shuffled into the kitchen.</p>
<p>Ray let out a light laugh. 'Just like your old man, hey?' he remarked. 'You know, I always thought you might follow in your Dad's footsteps. I guess being vegetarian counts.'</p>
<p>Bobby smiled cordially enough at that that most anyone who knew him would buy it, but Julie had spent enough long nights squinting at the Wilson kids' faces in the pitch darkness as they told ghost stories or gossipped about teachers or confessed crushes they had on classmates, trying to capture their entire facial expressions, intent on drawing them later, to know that something uncomfortable had settled behind it. The reigniting of their friendship was nubile enough that Julie wasn't going to push it. She'd keep this to herself for now, but she wasn't sure how long she could keep a lid on the part of her that was always desperate to solve her friends' problems.</p>
<p>From there Julie led the boys over to the smaller of two tables in the house, made to sit four. It was only once they got there that she realised the potential problem. 'Oh. I, uh, I guess I-'</p>
<p>But with a synchronisation not unlike the night before, she had barely spoken before Bobby had led the charge to the other side of the house, coming back with the other three and four more chairs plucked from the dining table.</p>
<p>'Quick thinking,' Julie remarked, looking to Bobby.</p>
<p>'I try,' Bobby replied easily.</p>
<p>'I'm thinking pancakes.' Ray called from the stove, turning his head to look at the five of them. 'Thoughts?'</p>
<p>Julie saw Reggie perk up, his eyes a little brighter and his posture a little taller. Yes. Pancakes.</p>
<p>'Pancakes sound great, Dad. I'll get the table set.'</p>
<p>'Thank you, mija.' Ray turned away from them again and knocked on the ceiling. 'Carlos! Pajama breakfast! Come down, we have guests!'</p>
<p>'Bobby's here,' Julie offered as incentive for Carlos.</p>
<p>'Bobby's here!' Ray repeated.</p>
<p>'Bobby's here?!' Carlos asked from somewhere nebulous upstairs, his excitement audible. Bobby chuckled as fast footsteps could be heard racing across the upstairs, their volume growing as Carlos careened onto the stairs and took them two at a time. 'Bobby's here!' he exclaimed in place of a greeting when he reached the bottom and locked eyes on him.</p>
<p>'Sure am, little man. How're things? You still into baseball?' The grin now decorating Bobby's face was pure warmth.</p>
<p>'Yeah, and I'm good at it too,' Carlos bragged, clearly revving up to share his life story in relation to baseball.</p>
<p>'Well you'll have to tell him all about it once we're sat down,' Julie intervened, stopping the incoming spiel. Carlos stuck his tongue out at her. She stuck hers out back. Getting the assumed necessary cutlery, plates, glasses and placemats together, Julie set them down on the table, and was surprised yet again when the four made quick work of setting each place for her. They were either absolute saints or felt incredibly guilty, and she could still remember when Bobby had stuck gum to the underside of one of her mother's keyboards near the power switch as a nasty surprise for Julie, so it wasn't the first one. Before she could comment on it, though, her father was setting down a plate heaped with still steaming plain pancakes onto the centre of the table. Julie had to wonder where he'd found that much pancake mix.</p>
<p>They settled into their seats, the four clustered together on one curve of the table, Carlos squirmed in next to Bobby, presumably to talk his ear off, Julie next to Luke on the other side and Ray next to her, the place setting next to him and Carlos left empty. A fairly comfortable silence settled over the room, and Julie and Carlos locked eyes and both zapped a hand out, trying to be the first to grab the large fork with which to pick up the pancakes.</p>
<p>'Shouldn't we wait for your Mom?'</p>
<p>Both hands stopped mid-way, the cuff of Carlos' sleeve dangerously close to being dunked in a jar of jam that sat near the serving plate. Julie's stomach plummeted through the foundation of the house.</p>
<p>'Carrie didn't tell you.'</p>
<p>She retreated her hand, but, in the growing haze that often immediately preceded a panic attack for her, that was all Julie could muster. She could make out the pressure of her father resting a hand on her knee, and all she felt was selfish for making him, the man who lost the love of his life, comfort her when at this point she knew she should have been over it. She'd wasted opportunities and burdened her family and squandered her professional help because she- what? Liked the feeling of being coddled? She could feel the world around her getting noisy, but more like a bubblling static or a humid day when the cicadas are out than the typical cacophony someone would call "noise".</p>
<p>'Rose, uh,' Ray began.</p>
<p>And this was the kicker for Julie. Would any of them even be capable of saying it? Julie was sick and tired of hearing "she can't be with us today" and "she's always in our hearts" and "she's in a better place" out of stranger's mouths, out of her family's mouths and out of her own mouth. Even Flynn's talk about signs wore on Julie on her worst days, because in all honesty Julie had no idea where her mother was, if anywhere, let alone if she had the power to orchestrate things, and she knew it wasn't healthy but God help her if she didn't want to just sit in that fear of total oblivion for a moment sometimes and consider the possibility that she should be mourning <em>all</em> of her mother because <em>all</em> of her was gone.</p>
<p>'She passed about a year ago,' he finished. She supposed that was the most neutral of the euphemisms.</p>
<p>'Sorry, I need to go to the bathroom,' Julie found herself saying, out of her seat before she'd registered the scraping of chair on wood and then suddenly inside the bathroom in the garage, the memory of any hallways or corridors or walking or <em>anything</em> about the journey scrubbed from her mind. She looked behind her. The door was already closed. Tucking herself away into the corner between the shower and toilet, Julie drew her knees up and rested her head on them, eyes boring a hole sideways into the sink cabinet in front of her. She began fiddling with the hem of her shirt, trying to focus on the texture of the tightly wrapped thread. She was past being embarrassed for grieving, but she knew that despite how difficult it was she should try and ground herself, for her own sake.</p>
<p>The knock that then fell on the door startled her partially back into reality.</p>
<p>'I- um-' She was pretty sure that was Luke. 'Are you okay?'</p>
<p>Julie managed a light scoff.</p>
<p>'Yeah, that was a shit question.'</p>
<p>A pause.</p>
<p>'Look, we're really sorry about your Mom. Bobby honestly had no idea. I-'</p>
<p>'I know.' Julie's voice was shaky, weak. But it was there.</p>
<p>Another pause.</p>
<p>'If you want, we can lea-'</p>
<p>'No.' Her voice had gained a little more of its strength. 'I've just had some.' She inhaled. It shook. 'Really, bad days recently.' She exhaled. It shook a little less. 'It's not your fault.'</p>
<p>A beat of silence passed before a response came.</p>
<p>'Well, it's not yours either.'</p>
<p>A part of her screamed for her to deny that; to ensist that she was being a child and holding everyone back. She fought hard not to listen to it.</p>
<p>'I'll be back up in a little while,' she decided. 'You head back.'</p>
<p>'You sure?'</p>
<p>'Yeah.' She paused. 'When I get back, don't... make sure no one... don't bring this up.'</p>
<p>'Of course, yeah.'</p>
<p>She could vaguely hear his footsteps as he presumably walked back. That was a good sign, at least. She was coming down.</p>
<p>After what felt like a few more minutes, Julie made to stand. Her legs felt like jelly, and she wobbled a bit, but managed to steady herself. She took the path back up to the house slowly, the dread at potentially being pitied or suddenly treated differently setting in. She pushed past it. How her brain could insist that she relished in being treated with kid gloves when she evidently despised it with every bone in her body was a question she'd have to google instead of asking Dr Turner via text. Pushing open the back door, she quietly shuffled her way back over to the breakfast table and sat back down in her seat, scooching it back under the table.</p>
<p>There was a moment of silence.</p>
<p>'So, Carlos was just telling me about the new season of Clone Wars,' Bobby began, handing over to Carlos with a tilt of his head.</p>
<p>'Oh god, Clone Wars, I can't stand that. No, it's original trilogy or bust,' Reggie piped in, the most animated she'd ever heard him.</p>
<p>'Nuh-uh,' Carlos argued.</p>
<p>'Yuh-huh,' Reggie teased back.</p>
<p>'Nuh-uh.'</p>
<p>'Yuh-huh.'</p>
<p>And just like that, almost like magic, the table was back to, no, even better than it had been before.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>look i know i spent a lot of words on breakfast but i promise we're going somewhere lol</p>
<p>as always, thanks so much for reading ! i really hope you enjoyed !</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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